Initializing hardware components using parallel driver loading and serial access granting

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described herein that are capable of initializing hardware components by loading drivers in parallel and granting the drivers access to the hardware components serially. For instance, a controller may serve as an intermediary between the drivers and the hardware components to synchronize access of the drivers to the respective hardware components. The controller may include software and hardware. The software may program the hardware to grant the drivers access to the respective hardware components serially based at least in part on an event that is capable of being associated with one driver at a time. Accordingly, access of the drivers to the respective hardware components may be granted serially, even though the drivers have been loaded in parallel.

BACKGROUND

When a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, tablet computer,personal digital assistant, or mobile phone) is initialized (a.k.a.booted up), device drivers access corresponding hardware components toinitialize the hardware components. For instance, the device drivers mayserve as software interfaces to the hardware components to enableprograms (e.g., an operating system) to access functionality of thehardware components. The device drivers traditionally access thecorresponding hardware components serially due to hardware limitationsof the computing device. One common technique for serializing access tohardware components is to have static load-time dependency among thevarious software drivers. For instance, if driver A has a dependency ondriver B, driver B will not be loaded until driver A loads successfully.Static load-time dependency therefore causes drivers to be loadedserially. However, if static load-time dependency is used and adependent driver fails to load correctly, the remaining dependentdrivers typically are not loaded.

SUMMARY

Various approaches are described herein for, among other things,initializing hardware components by loading drivers in parallel andgranting the drivers access to the hardware components serially.Examples of a hardware component include but are not limited to a camera(e.g., camera sensor), a printer, a gyroscope, an ambient light sensor(ALS), an accelerometer, a magnometer, a speaker, and a microphone. Acontroller may serve as an intermediary between the drivers and thehardware components to synchronize access of the drivers to therespective hardware components. The controller may include software andhardware, and the software may program the hardware to grant the driversaccess to the respective hardware components serially based on (e.g.,based at least in part on) an event (e.g., a named event) that iscapable of being associated with one driver at a time. For example, thecontroller may grant a first driver access to a first hardware componentat a first time instance (e.g., based on the event being associated withthe first driver at the first time instance); the controller may grant asecond driver access to a second hardware component at a second timeinstance that follows the first time instance (e.g., based on the eventbeing associated with the second driver at the second time instance);the controller may grant a third driver access to a third hardwarecomponent at a third time instance that follows the second time instance(e.g., based on the event being associated with the third driver at thethird time instance), and so on. Accordingly, access of the drivers tothe respective hardware components may be granted serially, even thoughthe drivers have been loaded in parallel.

In an example approach, multiple software drivers of a computing deviceare loaded in parallel. The software drivers correspond to respectivehardware components of the computing device. Access of the softwaredrivers to the respective hardware components is controlled by seriallygranting the software drivers access to the respective hardwarecomponents. For example, an operating system of the computing device maycreate an event (e.g., a common sync object) to serialize the access ofthe software drivers to the respective hardware components. In anotherexample, an operating system may create multiple events (e.g., syncobjects) to control access of respective subsets of software drivers torespective subsets of hardware components. For instance, a first eventmay be used to serialize access of a first subset of software drivers toa first subset of hardware components; a second event may be used toserialize access of a second subset of software drivers to a secondsubset of hardware components, and so on. Static load-time dependencymay be used to load some software drivers serially, so long as othersoftware drivers are loaded in parallel.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, itis noted that the invention is not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed in the Detailed Description and/or other sections of thisdocument. Such embodiments are presented herein for illustrativepurposes only. Additional embodiments will be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present inventionand, together with the description, further serve to explain theprinciples involved and to enable a person skilled in the relevantart(s) to make and use the disclosed technologies.

FIG. 1 depicts a flowchart of an example method for loading driversserially.

FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart of an example method for loading drivers inparallel in accordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are block diagrams of example computing systems inaccordance with embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an example method for initializing acomputing device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram of an exemplary mobile device in accordancewith an embodiment.

FIG. 7 depicts an example computer in which embodiments may beimplemented.

The features and advantages of the disclosed technologies will becomemore apparent from the detailed description set forth below when takenin conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference charactersidentify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, likereference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar,and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an elementfirst appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the correspondingreference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. INTRODUCTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawingsthat illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention. However,the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments,but is instead defined by the appended claims. Thus, embodiments beyondthose shown in the accompanying drawings, such as modified versions ofthe illustrated embodiments, may nevertheless be encompassed by thepresent invention.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” or the like, indicate that the embodimentdescribed may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, whena particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within theknowledge of one skilled in the relevant art(s) to implement suchfeature, structure, or characteristic in connection with otherembodiments whether or not explicitly described.

Descriptors such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. are used toreference some elements discussed herein. Such descriptors are used tofacilitate the discussion of the example embodiments and do not indicatea required order of the referenced elements, unless an affirmativestatement is made herein that such an order is required. For instance, astatement that a first time instance precedes a second time instance orthat the second time instance follows the first time instance indicatesa required order of the first and second time instances.

II. EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments described herein are capable of initializinghardware components by loading drivers in parallel and granting thedrivers access to the hardware components serially. For instance,drivers (especially drivers corresponding to hardware components of thesame hardware component type) traditionally are loaded in series using astatic load-time dependency. Static load-time dependency dictates anorder in which drivers may be loaded. The example embodiments arecapable of loading such drivers in parallel to remove the staticload-time dependency. Examples of a hardware component (or hardwarecomponent type) include but are not limited to a camera (e.g., camerasensor), a printer, a gyroscope, an ambient light sensor (ALS), anaccelerometer, a magnometer, a speaker, and a microphone. A controllermay serve as an intermediary between the drivers and the hardwarecomponents to synchronize access of the drivers to the respectivehardware components. The controller may include software and hardware,and the software may program the hardware to grant the drivers access tothe respective hardware components serially based on (e.g., based atleast in part on) an event (e.g., a named event) that is capable ofbeing associated with one driver at a time.

An event is an action or occurrence that is capable of being recognizedby software. The software may trigger the event into an event loop, aswill be understood by persons of skill in the relevant art. An eventloop is a programming construct that waits for and dispatches events ormessages in a program. For example, the event loop may make a request toan event provider, which may block the request until an event hasarrived. In accordance with this example, the event loop may call anevent handler to dispatch the event. The event handler may dispatch theevent to (e.g., associate the event with) the drivers serially. Forinstance, each of the drivers may be granted access to its correspondinghardware component based on the event being dispatched to that driver.The event may be a named event, meaning that the event has a name thatis made available to entities that may attempt to use the event. Forinstance, naming the event may facilitate sharing the event across thedrivers.

For example, the controller may grant a first driver access to a firsthardware component at a first time instance (e.g., based on the eventbeing associated with the first driver at the first time instance); thecontroller may grant a second driver access to a second hardwarecomponent at a second time instance that follows the first time instance(e.g., based on the event being associated with the second driver at thesecond time instance); the controller may grant a third driver access toa third hardware component at a third time instance that follows thesecond time instance (e.g., based on the event being associated with thethird driver at the third time instance), and so on. Accordingly, accessof the drivers to the respective hardware components may be grantedserially, even though the drivers have been loaded in parallel.

Example techniques described herein have a variety of benefits ascompared to conventional techniques for initializing hardwarecomponents. For instance, the example techniques may be capable ofserializing access of software drivers to hardware components, eventhough the software drivers are loaded in parallel. If a software driverfails to load correctly, the example techniques nevertheless may becapable of loading other software drivers thereafter. Accordingly, theexample techniques may increase reliability of the computing device onwhich the hardware components are initialized, as compared toconventional techniques. For instance, hardware components associatedwith those other software drivers may be usable (e.g., by an end user ora test engineer) even though the hardware component whose softwaredriver failed to load is not usable.

The example techniques may reduce an amount of time and/or resources(e.g., processor, memory) that are consumed to initialize hardwarecomponents. For instance, loading software drivers in parallel may takeless time, reduce processor utilization, and/or reduce memoryutilization, as compared to loading the software drivers in series. Theexample techniques may increase efficiency of the computing system onwhich the hardware components are initialized. The example techniquesmay initialize hardware devices faster than conventional techniques.

A distinction between serial driver loading and parallel driver loadingwill be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, FIG. 1depicts a flowchart 100 of an example method for loading driversserially using static load-time dependency among software drivers;whereas, FIG. 2 depicts a flowchart 200 of an example method for loadingdrivers in parallel in accordance with an embodiment. The methods offlowcharts 100 and 200 are described with reference to two drivers(i.e., Driver A and Driver B) for non-limiting illustrative purposes. Itwill be recognized that the methods are applicable to any suitablenumber of drivers (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5 drivers).

As shown in FIG. 1, the method of flowchart 100 starts at step 102. Instep 102, a determination is made whether Driver A is loaded and itscorresponding hardware is accessed. If so, control flows to step 104.Otherwise, control flows to step 108.

At step 104, a determination is made whether Driver B is loaded and itscorresponding hardware is accessed. If so, control flows to step 106.Otherwise, control flows to step 112.

At step 106, the method of flowchart 100 ends with Drivers A and B beingsuccessfully loaded.

At step 108, Driver B does not get an opportunity to load, and flowcontinues to step 110.

At step 110, the flowchart 100 ends with Drivers A and B failing toload.

At step 112, the flowchart 100 ends with Driver A being successfullyloaded and Driver B failing to load.

As shown in FIG. 2, the method of flowchart 200 includes branches202A-202N, which are performed in parallel. Branch 202A starts with step204A. At step 204A, a determination is made whether Driver A is loaded.If so, control flows to step 206A. Otherwise, control flows to step208A.

At step 206A, branch 202A ends with Driver A being successfully loaded.

At step 208A, branch 202A ends with Driver A failing to load.

Branch 202B starts with step 204B. At step 204B, a determination is madewhether Driver B is loaded. If so, control flows to step 206B.Otherwise, control flows to step 208B.

At step 206B, branch 202B ends with Driver B being successfully loaded.

At step 208B, branch 202B ends with Driver B failing to load.

Each branch of the method is performed in a similar manner. Forinstance, branch 202N starts with step 204N. At step 204N, adetermination is made whether Driver N is loaded. If so, control flowsto step 206N. Otherwise, control flows to step 208N.

At step 206N, branch 202N ends with Driver N being successfully loaded.

At step 208N, branch 202N ends with Driver N failing to load.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example computing system 300 inaccordance with an embodiment. The computing system 300 includes one ormore processing systems. An example of a processing system is a systemthat includes at least one processor that is capable of manipulatingdata in accordance with a set of instructions. For instance, aprocessing system may be a computer (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a wearable computer such as a smart watchor a head-mounted computer), a personal digital assistant, a cellulartelephone, etc.

As shown in FIG. 3, the computing system 300 includes parallel loadingand serial access logic 350. The parallel loading and serial accesslogic 350 is configured to initialize hardware components using paralleldriver loading and serial access granting. The parallel loading andserial access logic 350 includes an operating system 302, a controller304, and a plurality of hardware components 306A-306N. The operatingsystem 302 performs operations which may include but are not limited tomanaging computer hardware and software resources and providing servicesfor computer programs that run on the computing system 300. Examples ofan operating system include but are not limited to Berkeley SoftwareDistribution™ (BSD), developed and distributed by the Computer SystemsResearch Group (CSRG) of the University of California, Berkeley, ordescendants thereof; Linux developed and distributed under the GNUProject; iOS™ developed and distributed by Apple Inc., MicrosoftWindows® developed and distributed by Microsoft Corporation; and UNIX™developed and distributed by AT&T.

The operating system 302 includes loading logic (a.k.a. loader) 308,dependency removal logic 310, event creation logic 312, and a pluralityof software drivers 314A-314N. The loading logic 308 is configured toload the software drivers 314A-314N in parallel. For example, theloading logic 308 may read the contents of executable files that definethe software drivers 314A-314N into memory of the computing system 300at substantially the same time. In accordance with this example, theloading logic 308 may prepare the software drivers 314A-314N forexecution. It will be recognized that once the software drivers314A-314N are loaded, the operating system 302 may start the softwaredrivers 314A-314N by passing control to the loaded software drivers314A-314N.

If the operating system 302 supports virtual memory, the loading logic308 need not necessarily copy the contents of the executable files intomemory. For example, the loading logic 308 may load the software drivers314A-314N by declaring to a virtual memory subsystem that a mappingexists between regions of memory that are allocated to contain the codeof the running software drivers 314-314N and the contents of theexecutable files. In accordance with this example, the virtual memorysubsystem may be notified that pages with those regions of memory are tobe filled on demand if and when execution of the software drivers314A-314N reaches those regions. Accordingly, parts of the code may notbe copied into memory until those parts are used, and parts of the codethat are not used may not be copied into memory at all.

The loading logic 308 may be configured to determine whether softwaredrivers (e.g., software drivers 314A-314N) have an explicit dependency.Software drivers are deemed to have an explicit dependency if, for eachof the software drivers, the respective software driver has an explicitdependency on one or more of the other software drivers and/or one ormore of the other software drivers have an explicit dependency on therespective software driver. In one example, loading logic 308 may beconfigured to determine whether software drivers are to be loaded inparallel or in series based on whether the software drivers have anexplicit dependency. If the software drivers have an explicitdependency, the loading logic 308 may load the software drivers inseries (e.g., using a static load-time dependency). If the softwaredrivers do not have an explicit dependency, the loading logic 308 mayload the software drivers in parallel. Accordingly, the loading logic308 may load the software drivers 314A-314N in parallel in response to(e.g., based on) a determination that the software drivers 314A-314N donot have an explicit dependency.

It should be noted that an explicit dependency may exist based on anysuitable condition(s). For example, an explicit dependency may existbetween hardware components of a same hardware component type based onsuch condition(s). In an aspect of this example, assume fornon-limiting, illustrative purposes that the hardware components includea master camera and a slave camera. Further assume that a conditionspecifies that if the master camera fails to load, the slave camera isnot to be loaded. In accordance with this aspect, an explicit dependencyexists between the master camera and the slave camera based on thecondition.

In another example, an explicit dependency may exist between hardwarecomponents of different component types based on such condition(s). Inan aspect of this example, assume for non-limiting, illustrativepurposes that the hardware components include a voltage regulator and acamera. Further assume that a condition specifies that if the voltageregulator fails to load, the camera is not to be loaded. In accordancewith this aspect, an explicit dependency exists between the voltageregulator and the camera based on the condition.

The dependency removal logic 310 is configured to remove staticload-time dependency from software drivers (e.g., software drivers314A-314N). Static load-time dependency dictates an order in whichsoftware drivers may be loaded. For example, if driver A has a staticload-time dependency on driver B, driver B cannot be loaded until driverA loads successfully. In accordance with this example, if driver B has astatic load-time dependency on driver C, driver C cannot be loaded untildriver B loads successfully. The removal of the static load-timedependency enables the software drivers to be loaded in any suitableorder. For instance, some or all of the software drivers may be loadedin parallel if those software drivers do not have static load-timedependency.

The event creation logic 312 creates a designated event 320 (e.g., acommon sync object) to facilitate serially granting the software drivers314A-314N access to the respective hardware components 306A-306N. Thedesignated event 320 may be a named event so that the designated event320 may be passed among (e.g., used by) the software drivers 314A-314None at a time, though the example embodiments are not limited in thisrespect. For example, possession (e.g., use) of the designated event 320may give the software driver that has possession the ability tocommunicate with the hardware component with which the software driveris associated. In accordance with this example, each of the othersoftware drivers may not be allowed to communicate with its associatedhardware component until that software driver possesses the designatedevent 320. In further accordance with this example, once the designatedevent 320 is passed from a software driver to another software driver,the software driver from which the designated event 320 is passed maynot be able to access its associated hardware component again until thesoftware driver regains possession of the designated event 320.

The designated event 320 may have an available state and an unavailablestate. The unavailable state indicates that the designated event 320 isassigned to (e.g., being used by) one of the software drivers 314A-314N.The available state indicates that the designated event 320 is notassigned to (e.g., not being used by) any of the software drivers314A-314N. When the event creation logic 312 creates the designatedevent 320, the event creation logic 312 may signal the designated event320, thereby setting the designated event 320 to be in the availablestate. Whichever software driver is temporally first to gain possessionof the designated event 320 is able to communicate with its associatedhardware component so long as the designated event 320 remains in thepossession of that software driver. The event creation logic 312 may setthe designated event 320 to the unavailable state while the designatedevent 320 is in the possession of the temporally first software driver.For instance, setting the designated event 320 to the unavailable statewhile the designated event 320 is in the possession of the temporallyfirst software driver may effectively lock the controller 304 so thatthe controller 304 is allowed to communicate with the temporally firstsoftware driver but not the other software drivers so long as thetemporally first software driver remains in possession of the designatedevent 320.

When the temporally first software driver is finished communicating withits associated hardware component (e.g., when the temporally firstsoftware driver releases the designated event 320), the event creationlogic 312 may again signal the designated event 320 to indicate that thedesignated event 320 is again available. Whichever software driver isnext to gain possession of the designated event 320 is able tocommunicate with its associated hardware component so long as thedesignated event 320 remains in the possession of that software driver.The event creation logic 312 may set the designated event 320 to theunavailable state again while this software driver has possible of thedesignated event 320. For instance, setting the designated event 320 tothe unavailable state again may effectively lock the controller 304again so that the controller 304 is allowed to communicate with thesoftware driver that has possession of the designated event 320 but notthe other software drivers so long as the software driver that haspossession of the designated event 320 remains in possession of thedesignated event 320.

When the software driver that has possession of the designated event 320is finished communicating with its associated hardware component, theevent creation logic 312 may again signal the designated event 320 toindicate that the designated event 320 is again available. This processmay repeat until all of the software drivers 314A-314N have communicatedwith their respective hardware components 306A-306N (or have been givenan opportunity to do so through possession of the designated event 320).

The software drivers 314A-314N generate respective requests 322A-322N inresponse to the respective software drivers 314A-314N being loaded. Forinstance, loading of the first software driver 314A may trigger thefirst software driver 314A to generate the first request 322A; loadingof the second software driver 314B may trigger the second softwaredriver 314B to generate the second request 322B, and so on. Because thesoftware drivers 314A-314N are loaded in parallel, the software drivers314A-314N may generate the requests 322A-322N at substantially the sametime, though the scope of the example embodiments is not limited in thisrespect. The requests 322A-322N request initiation of communication withthe respective hardware components 306A-306N. Each of the softwaredrivers 314A-314N may be a self-contained software entity.

The controller 304 is configured to control access of the softwaredrivers 314A-314N to the respective hardware components 306A-306N. Forexample, the controller 304 may serially grant access of the softwaredrivers 314A-314N to the respective hardware components 306A-306N. Inaccordance with this example, the controller 304 may serially providethe requests 322A-322N to the respective hardware components 306A-306N.

The controller 304 includes software 316 and hardware 318. The software316 programs the hardware 318 to cause the hardware 318 to seriallyprovide the requests 322A-322N to the respective hardware components306A-306N. For example, the software 316 may program the hardware 318based on the designated event 320. In accordance with this example, thesoftware 316 may program the hardware 318 to provide the requests322A-322N to the respective hardware components 306A-306N as thedesignated event 320 is dispatched to the respective software drivers314A-314N. For instance, the software 316 may program the hardware 318to provide the first request 322A to the first hardware component 306Awhile the designated event 320 is dispatched to the first softwaredriver 314A; the software 316 may program the hardware 318 to providethe second request 322B to the second hardware component 306B while thedesignated event 320 is dispatched to the second software driver 314B,and so on. The software 316 generates instructions 324 to program thehardware 318. For example, the instructions 324 may indicate the orderin which the requests 322A-322N are to be provided to the respectivehardware components 306A-306N. In accordance with this example, theorder may be the same as the order in which the designated event 320 isdispatched to the software drivers 314A-314N.

The hardware 318 serially provides the requests 322A-322N to therespective hardware components 306A-306N in accordance with theinstructions 324 that are received from the software 316. For instance,the hardware 318 may provide the requests 322A-322N to the respectivehardware components 306A-306N in the order that is indicated by theinstructions 324.

In an example embodiment, the hardware 318 is capable of communicatingwith a single hardware component at a time. In accordance with thisembodiment, use of the designated event 320 by the controller 304enables the hardware 318 to communicate with the hardware components306A-306N serially, even though the software drivers 314A-314N areloaded in parallel.

It will be recognized that the computing system 300 may not include oneor more of the components shown therein. Furthermore, the computingsystem 300 may include components in addition to or in lieu of thecomponents shown therein. For instance, a single, common controller 304is shown in FIG. 3 for purposes of illustration and is not intended tobe limiting. It will be recognized that any suitable number ofcontrollers may be utilized to control access to respective subsets ofhardware components.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another example computing system 400 inaccordance with an embodiment. The computing system 400 includes one ormore processing systems. As shown in FIG. 4, the computing system 400includes parallel loading and serial access logic 450. The parallelloading and serial access logic 450 is configured to initialize hardwarecomponents using parallel driver loading and serial access granting. Theparallel loading and serial access logic 450 includes an operatingsystem 402, a plurality of controllers 404A-404M, and multiplepluralities of hardware components 426A-426M. The operating system 402includes loading logic 408, dependency removal logic 410, event creationlogic 412, and multiple pluralities of software drivers 434A-434M. Theoperating system 402 is operable in a manner similar to the operatingsystem 302 described above with reference to FIG. 3. For instance, theloading logic 408, the dependency removal logic 410, and the eventcreation logic 412 are operable in a manner similar to the loading logic308, the dependency removal logic 310, and the event creation logic 312described above with reference to FIG. 3.

The loading logic 402 is configured to load each of the pluralities ofsoftware drivers 434A-434M in parallel. For instance, the loading logic402 loads the first software drivers 434A in parallel; the loading logic402 loads the second software drivers 434B in parallel, and so on. Itwill be recognized that the loading logic 408 need not necessarily loadany of the pluralities of software drivers 434A-434M in parallel withothers. For example, the first software drivers 434A need notnecessarily be loaded in parallel with the second software drivers 434B.In another example, the second software drivers 434B need notnecessarily be loaded in parallel with the Mth software drivers 434M. Itwill be further recognized that any two of more of the pluralities ofsoftware drivers 434A-434M may be loaded in parallel. For instance, thefirst software drivers 434A may be loaded in parallel with the secondsoftware drivers 434B, and/or the second software drivers 434B may beloaded in parallel with the Mth software drivers 434M.

The dependency removal logic 410 is configured to selectively removestatic load-time dependency from one or more (e.g., all) of thepluralities of software drivers 434A-434M. For example, the dependencyremoval logic 410 may remove static load-time dependency from the firstsoftware drivers 434A and not from the second software drivers 434B. Inanother example, the dependency removal logic 410 may remove a firststatic load-time dependency from the first software drivers 434A and asecond static load-time dependency from the second software drivers434B.

The event creation logic 412 creates designated events (e.g., syncobjects) 420A-420M. The first designated event 420A may enable one ofthe first software drivers 434A to communicate with its associatedhardware component among the first hardware components 426A at a time.The second designated event 420B may enable one of the second softwaredrivers 434B to communicate with its associated hardware component amongthe second hardware components 426A at a time, and so on.

Each plurality of software drivers 434A-434M is operable in a mannersimilar to the plurality of software drivers 314A-314N described abovewith reference to FIG. 3. For example, the pluralities of softwaredrivers 434A-434M generate respective pluralities of requests 442A-44M.In accordance with this example, the first software drivers 434Agenerate respective first requests 442A in response to the respectivefirst software drivers 434A being loaded; the second software drivers434B generate respective second requests 442B in response to therespective second software drivers 434B being loaded, and so on.

Each of the controllers 404A-404M is operable in a manner similar to thecontroller 304 described above with reference to FIG. 3. For instance,the first controller 404A is configured to control access of the firstsoftware drivers 434A to the respective first hardware components 426A;the second controller 404B is configured to control access of the secondsoftware drivers 434B to the respective second hardware components 426B,and so on. For example, the first controller 404A may serially grantaccess of the first software drivers 434A to the respective firsthardware components 426A; the second controller 404B may serially grantaccess of the second software drivers 434B to the respective secondhardware components 426B, and so on. In accordance with this example,the first controller 404A may serially provide the first requests 442Ato the respective first hardware components 426A; the second controller404B may serially provide the second requests 442B to the respectivesecond hardware components 426B, and so on.

Each of the instances of software 416A-416M is operable in a mannersimilar to the software 316 described above with reference to FIG. 3.For example, the first software 416A may program the first hardware 418Ato cause the first hardware 418A to serially provide the first requests442A to the respective first hardware components 426A; the secondsoftware 416B may program the second hardware 418B to cause the secondhardware 418B to serially provide the second requests 442B to therespective second hardware components 426B, and so on. In accordancewith this example, the first software 416A may generate firstinstructions 424A to program the first hardware 418A using the firstdesignated event 420A; the second software 416B may generate secondinstructions 424B to program the second hardware 418B using the seconddesignated event 420B, . . . and the Mth software 416M may generate Mthinstructions 424M to program the Mth hardware 418M using the Mthdesignated event 420M.

Each of the instances of hardware 418A-418M is operable in a mannersimilar to the hardware 318 described above with reference to FIG. 3.For instance, the first hardware 418A may serially provide the firstrequests 442A to the respective first hardware components 426A inaccordance with the first instructions 424A; the second hardware 418Bmay serially provide the second requests 442B to the respective secondhardware components 426B in accordance with the second instructions424B, and so on.

Each plurality of hardware components 426A-426M is operable in a mannersimilar to the plurality of hardware components 306A-306N describedabove with reference to FIG. 3.

It will be recognized that the computing system 400 may not include oneor more of the components shown therein. Furthermore, the computingsystem 400 may include components in addition to or in lieu of thecomponents shown therein.

Each of the parallel loading and serial access logic 350 and theparallel loading and serial access logic 450 described above withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4 may be implemented in various ways toinitialize hardware components by loading drivers in parallel andgranting the drivers access to the hardware components serially,including being implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or anycombination thereof. For example, each of the parallel loading andserial access logic 350 and the parallel loading and serial access logic450 may be implemented at least in part as computer program codeconfigured to be executed in one or more processors. In another example,each of the parallel loading and serial access logic 350 and theparallel loading and serial access logic 450 may be implemented at leastin part as hardware logic/electrical circuitry. For instance, each ofthe parallel loading and serial access logic 350 and the parallelloading and serial access logic 450 may be implemented at least in partin a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), an application-specific standard product(ASSP), a system-on-a-chip system (SoC), a complex programmable logicdevice (CPLD), etc. Each SoC may include an integrated circuit chip thatincludes one or more of a processor (e.g., a microcontroller,microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), memory, one ormore communication interfaces, and/or further circuits and/or embeddedfirmware to perform its functions.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 of an example method for initializing acomputing device in accordance with an embodiment. The flowchart 500 maybe performed by computing system 300 or computing system 400 shown inrespective FIGS. 3-4, for example. For illustrative purposes, theflowchart 500 is described with respect to the computing system 300.Further structural and operational embodiments will be apparent topersons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on the discussion regardingthe flowchart 500.

As shown in FIG. 5, the method of the flowchart 500 begins at step 502.In step 502, a static load-time dependency associated with a pluralityof software drivers of a computing device is removed to enable loadingof the software drivers in parallel. In an example embodiment, thedependency removal logic 310 removes the static load-time dependencyassociated with the software drivers 314A-314N.

At step 504, the plurality of software drivers of the computing device,which correspond to a plurality of respective hardware components of thecomputing device, are loaded in parallel (e.g., at substantially thesame time) based at least in part on the hardware components being asame hardware component type. For instance, the software drivers may beconfigured to control the respective hardware components. In an exampleimplementation, the loading logic 308 loads the software drivers314A-314N of the computing system 300, which correspond to the hardwarecomponents 306A-306N of the computing system 300, in parallel based atleast in part on the hardware components 306A-306N being a same hardwarecomponent type.

At step 506, access of the software drivers to the respective hardwarecomponents is controlled by serially providing requests from therespective software drivers to the respective hardware components (e.g.,despite the software drivers being loaded in parallel) in response toloading the software drivers at step 504. The requests requestinitiation of communication with the respective hardware components(e.g., in the context of the initialization of the computing device).Such communication may be uni-directional (e.g., from a software driverto the respective hardware component) or bi-directional (e.g., from asoftware driver to the respective hardware component, and vice versa).For example, the requests may be serially provided to the respectivehardware components during respective successive periods of time. Inaccordance with this example, at least some of the requests may bethrottled such that the requests are provided to the respective hardwarecomponents during the respective successive periods of time. In anotherexample, the requests may be serially provided to the respectivehardware components without using a static load-time dependency amongthe software drivers. In an example implementation, the controller 304controls access of the software drivers 314A-314N to the respectivehardware components 306A-306N by serially providing the requests322A-322N from the respective software drivers 314A-314N to therespective hardware components 306A-306N in response to loading thesoftware drivers 314A-314N. The requests 322A-322N request initiation ofcommunication with the respective hardware components 306A-306N.

In an example embodiment, controlling the access of the software driversat step 506 includes controlling initialization of the hardwarecomponents. In another example embodiment, step 506 includes causingcommunication of the software drivers with the respective hardwarecomponents to be initiated serially among the software drivers. In yetanother example embodiment, step 506 includes serially granting thesoftware drivers access to the respective hardware components forrespective successive periods of time. In accordance with thisembodiment, the periods of time do not overlap. In still another exampleembodiment, the requests are initial requests from the respectivesoftware drivers that are directed to the respective hardwarecomponents. An initial request from a software driver that is directedto a hardware component is a temporally first request that is initiatedby the software driver to be received by the respective hardwarecomponent during the initialization of the computing device.

In another example embodiment, serially providing the requests to therespective hardware components includes using a controller to seriallyprovide the requests. In accordance with this embodiment, the controllerincludes hardware and software. In further accordance with thisembodiment, using the controller includes receiving the requests fromthe respective software drivers by the software. In further accordancewith this embodiment, using the controller further includes programmingthe hardware by the software to cause the hardware to serially providethe requests to the respective hardware components.

It will be recognized that the hardware components can be of anysuitable hardware component type. Examples of a hardware component typeinclude but are not limited to a camera (e.g., camera sensor), printer,gyroscope, ambient light sensor (ALS), accelerometer, magnometer,speaker, and microphone. In an example embodiment, the software driverscorrespond to respective cameras of the computing device. In accordancewith this embodiment, controlling the access at step 506 includescontrolling the access of the software drivers to the respective camerasby serially providing the requests from the respective software driversto the respective cameras.

In some example embodiments, one or more steps 502, 504, and/or 506 offlowchart 500 may not be performed. Moreover, steps in addition to or inlieu of steps 502, 504, and/or 506 may be performed. For instance, in anexample embodiment, the method of flowchart 500 further includescreating a designated event to be utilized by the software drivers tofacilitate initialization of the respective hardware components. Thedesignated event is capable of being assigned to (e.g., used by) one ofthe software drivers at a time. In an example implementation, the eventcreation logic 312 creates the designated event 320 to be utilized bythe software drivers 314A-314N to facilitate initialization of therespective hardware components 306A-306N. In accordance with thisimplementation, the designated event 320 is configured to be assigned toone of the software drivers 314A-314N at a time. In accordance with thisaspect, the requests are serially provided during respective periods oftime during which the designated event is assigned to (e.g., used by)the respective software drivers. In an example of this aspect, themethod of flowchart 500 further includes sharing the designated eventwith the software drivers. For instance, the event creation logic 312may share the designated event with the software drivers 314A-314N.

In another example embodiment, the method of flowchart 500 furtherincludes loading a second plurality of software drivers of the computingdevice serially to accommodate a static load-time dependency associatedwith the second plurality of software drivers. For instance, the loadinglogic 308 or 408 may load the second plurality of software driversserially. In an aspect of this embodiment, a first hardware componenttype of the plurality of hardware components and a second hardwarecomponent type of a second plurality of hardware components to which theplurality of respective software drivers correspond are the same.

A determination as to whether software drivers are to be loaded seriallyor in parallel may depend on whether the software drivers have anexplicit dependency. The software drivers are deemed to have an explicitdependency if, for each of the software drivers, the respective softwaredriver has an explicit dependency on one or more of the other softwaredrivers and/or one or more of the other software drivers have anexplicit dependency on the respective software driver. In theaforementioned embodiment, the second plurality of software drivers maybe loaded serially based on the second plurality of software drivershaving an explicit dependency. For instance, the loading logic 308 or408 may load the second plurality of software drivers serially based onthe second plurality of software drivers having the explicit dependency.In accordance with the aforementioned embodiment, the first plurality ofsoftware drivers may be loaded in parallel based on the first pluralityof software drivers not having an explicit dependency. For instance, theloading logic 308 or 408 may load the first plurality of softwaredrivers in parallel based on the first plurality of software drivers nothaving an explicit dependency.

In yet another example embodiment, the software drivers are firstsoftware drivers (e.g., first software drivers 434A of FIG. 4) and thehardware components are first hardware components (e.g., first hardwarecomponents 426A of FIG. 4). In accordance with this embodiment,controlling the access at step 506 includes controlling the access ofthe first software drivers to the respective first hardware componentsby a first controller. For instance, the first controller 404A shown inFIG. 4 may control access of the first software drivers 434A to therespective first hardware components 426A. In accordance with thisembodiment, the method of flowchart 500 further includes loading aplurality of second software drivers of the computing device, whichcorrespond to a plurality of respective second hardware components ofthe computing device, in parallel based at least in part on theplurality of second hardware components being a same second hardwarecomponent type. For instance, the loading logic 308 or 408 may load thesecond software drivers 434B, which correspond to the second hardwarecomponents 426B, in parallel. In further accordance with thisembodiment, the method of flowchart 500 further includes controllingaccess of the second software drivers to the respective second hardwarecomponents, by a second controller, by serially providing secondrequests from the respective second software drivers to the respectivesecond hardware components in response to the plurality of secondsoftware drivers being loaded. The second requests request initiation ofcommunication with the respective second hardware components. Forinstance, the second controller 404B may control access of the secondsoftware drivers 434B to the respective second hardware components 426Bby serially providing second requests 442B from the respective secondsoftware drivers 434B to the respective second hardware components 426Bin response to the plurality of second software drivers 434B beingloaded. The second requests 442B request initiation of communicationwith the respective second hardware components 426B. In furtheraccordance with this embodiment, a request from a specified softwaredriver that is included in the plurality of first software drivers isprovided to a specified hardware component that is included in theplurality of first hardware components by the first controller inparallel with a second request from a designated software driver that isincluded in the plurality of second software drivers being provided to adesignated hardware component that is included in the plurality ofsecond hardware components by the second controller. For instance, thefirst controller 404A may provide the request from the specifiedsoftware driver, which is included in the first software drivers 434A,to the specified hardware component, which is included in the firsthardware components 426A, in parallel with the second controller 404Bproviding the second request from the designated software driver, whichis included in the second software drivers 434B, to the designatedhardware component, which is included in the second hardware components426B.

In an aspect of this embodiment, the first hardware components are afirst hardware component type, and the second hardware components are asecond hardware component type that is different from the first hardwarecomponent type. For instance, the first hardware components 426A may becamera sensors, and the second hardware components 426B may beaccelerometers.

In another aspect of this embodiment, the first software drivers areloaded in parallel with the second software drivers. For instance, theloading logic 308 or 408 may load the first software drivers 434A inparallel with the second software drivers 434B.

FIG. 6 is a system diagram of an exemplary mobile device 600 including avariety of optional hardware and software components, shown generally as602. Any components 602 in the mobile device may communicate with anyother component, though not all connections are shown, for ease ofillustration. The mobile device 600 may be any of a variety of computingdevices (e.g., cell phone, smartphone, handheld computer, PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), etc.) and may allow wireless two-waycommunications with one or more mobile communications networks 604, suchas a cellular or satellite network, or with a local area or wide areanetwork.

The mobile device 600 may include a processor 610 (e.g., signalprocessor, microprocessor, ASIC, or other control and processing logiccircuitry) for performing such tasks as signal coding, data processing,input/output processing, power control, and/or other functions. Anoperating system 612 may control the allocation and usage of thecomponents 602 and support for one or more applications 614 (a.k.a.application programs). The applications 614 may include common mobilecomputing applications (e.g., email applications, calendars, contactmanagers, web browsers, messaging applications) and any other computingapplications (e.g., word processing applications, mapping applications,media player applications).

The mobile device 600 may include memory 620. The memory 620 may includenon-removable memory 622 and/or removable memory 624. The non-removablememory 622 may include RAM, ROM, flash memory, a hard disk, or otherwell-known memory storage technologies. The removable memory 624 mayinclude flash memory or a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, whichis well known in GSM communication systems, or other well-known memorystorage technologies, such as “smart cards.” The memory 620 may storedata and/or code for running the operating system 612 and theapplications 614. Example data may include web pages, text, images,sound files, video data, or other data sets to be sent to and/orreceived from one or more network servers or other devices via one ormore wired or wireless networks. Memory 620 may store a subscriberidentifier, such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI),and an equipment identifier, such as an International Mobile EquipmentIdentifier (IMEI). Such identifiers may be transmitted to a networkserver to identify users and equipment.

The mobile device 600 may support one or more input devices 630, such asa touch screen 632, microphone 634, camera 636, physical keyboard 638and/or trackball 640 and one or more output devices 650, such as aspeaker 652 and a display 654. Touch screens, such as the touch screen632, may detect input in different ways. For example, capacitive touchscreens detect touch input when an object (e.g., a fingertip) distortsor interrupts an electrical current running across the surface. Asanother example, touch screens may use optical sensors to detect touchinput when beams from the optical sensors are interrupted. Physicalcontact with the surface of the screen is not necessary for input to bedetected by some touch screens. For example, the touch screen 632 maysupport a finger hover detection using capacitive sensing, as is wellunderstood in the art. Other detection techniques may be used, includingbut not limited to camera-based detection and ultrasonic-baseddetection. To implement a finger hover, a user's finger is typicallywithin a predetermined spaced distance above the touch screen, such asbetween 0.1 to 0.25 inches, or between 0.0.25 inches and 0.05 inches, orbetween 0.0.5 inches and 0.75 inches, or between 0.75 inches and 1 inch,or between 1 inch and 1.5 inches, etc.

The mobile device 600 may include parallel loading and serial accesslogic 692. The parallel loading and serial access logic 692 isconfigured to initialize hardware components (e.g., any one or more ofthe input device(s) 630, any one or more of the output device(s) 650,and/or any one or more of the wireless modem(s) 660) by loading driversin parallel and granting the drivers access to the hardware componentsserially in accordance with any one or more of the techniques describedherein.

Other possible output devices (not shown) may include piezoelectric orother haptic output devices. Some devices may serve more than oneinput/output function. For example, touch screen 632 and display 654 maybe combined in a single input/output device. The input devices 630 mayinclude a Natural User Interface (NUI). An NUI is any interfacetechnology that enables a user to interact with a device in a “natural”manner, free from artificial constraints imposed by input devices suchas mice, keyboards, remote controls, and the like. Examples of NUImethods include those relying on speech recognition, touch and stylusrecognition, gesture recognition both on screen and adjacent to thescreen, air gestures, head and eye tracking, voice and speech, vision,touch, gestures, and machine intelligence. Other examples of a NUIinclude motion gesture detection using accelerometers/gyroscopes, facialrecognition, 3D displays, head, eye, and gaze tracking, immersiveaugmented reality and virtual reality systems, all of which provide amore natural interface, as well as technologies for sensing brainactivity using electric field sensing electrodes (EEG and relatedmethods). Thus, in one specific example, the operating system 612 orapplications 614 may include speech-recognition software as part of avoice control interface that allows a user to operate the mobile device600 via voice commands. Furthermore, the mobile device 600 may includeinput devices and software that allows for user interaction via a user'sspatial gestures, such as detecting and interpreting gestures to provideinput to a gaming application.

Wireless modem(s) 660 may be coupled to antenna(s) (not shown) and maysupport two-way communications between the processor 610 and externaldevices, as is well understood in the art. The modem(s) 660 are showngenerically and may include a cellular modem 666 for communicating withthe mobile communication network 604 and/or other radio-based modems(e.g., Bluetooth 664 and/or Wi-Fi 662). At least one of the wirelessmodem(s) 660 is typically configured for communication with one or morecellular networks, such as a GSM network for data and voicecommunications within a single cellular network, between cellularnetworks, or between the mobile device and a public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN).

The mobile device may further include at least one input/output port680, a power supply 682, a satellite navigation system receiver 684,such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, an accelerometer686, and/or a physical connector 690, which may be a USB port, IEEE 1394(FireWire) port, and/or RS-232 port. The illustrated components 602 arenot required or all-inclusive, as any components may be deleted andother components may be added as would be recognized by one skilled inthe art.

Although the operations of some of the disclosed methods are describedin a particular, sequential order for convenient presentation, it shouldbe understood that this manner of description encompasses rearrangement,unless a particular ordering is required by specific language set forthherein. For example, operations described sequentially may in some casesbe rearranged or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake ofsimplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in whichthe disclosed methods may be used in conjunction with other methods.

Any one or more of the parallel loading and serial access logic 350, theparallel loading and serial access logic 450, flowchart 100, flowchart200, and/or flowchart 500 may be implemented in hardware, software,firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, any one or more ofthe parallel loading and serial access logic 350, the parallel loadingand serial access logic 450, flowchart 100, flowchart 200, and/orflowchart 500 may be implemented at least in part as computer programcode configured to be executed in one or more processors. In anotherexample, any one or more of the parallel loading and serial access logic350, the parallel loading and serial access logic 450, flowchart 100,flowchart 200, and/or flowchart 500 may be implemented at least in partas hardware logic/electrical circuitry. For instance, in an embodiment,one or more of the parallel loading and serial access logic 350, theparallel loading and serial access logic 450, flowchart 100, flowchart200, and/or flowchart 500 may be implemented in a system-on-chip (SoC).The SoC may include an integrated circuit chip that includes one or moreof a processor (e.g., a microcontroller, microprocessor, digital signalprocessor (DSP), etc.), memory, one or more communication interfaces,and/or further circuits and/or embedded firmware to perform itsfunctions.

III. EXAMPLE COMPUTER SYSTEM

FIG. 7 depicts an example computer 700 in which embodiments may beimplemented. For instance, any one or more of computer systems 300 and400 shown in respective FIGS. 3 and 4 and/or mobile device 600 shown inFIG. 6 may be implemented using computer 700, including one or morefeatures of computer 700 and/or alternative features. Computer 700 maybe a general-purpose computing device in the form of a conventionalpersonal computer, a mobile computer, or a workstation, for example, orcomputer 700 may be a special purpose computing device. The descriptionof computer 700 provided herein is provided for purposes ofillustration, and is not intended to be limiting. Embodiments may beimplemented in further types of computer systems, as would be known topersons skilled in the relevant art(s).

As shown in FIG. 7, computer 700 includes a processing unit 702, asystem memory 704, and a bus 706 that couples various system componentsincluding system memory 704 to processing unit 702. Bus 706 representsone or more of any of several types of bus structures, including amemory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an acceleratedgraphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. System memory 704 includes read only memory (ROM) 708and random access memory (RAM) 710. A basic input/output system 712(BIOS) is stored in ROM 708.

Computer 700 also has one or more of the following drives: a hard diskdrive 714 for reading from and writing to a hard disk, a magnetic diskdrive 716 for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk 718,and an optical disk drive 720 for reading from or writing to a removableoptical disk 722 such as a CD ROM, DVD ROM, or other optical media. Harddisk drive 714, magnetic disk drive 716, and optical disk drive 720 areconnected to bus 706 by a hard disk drive interface 724, a magnetic diskdrive interface 726, and an optical drive interface 728, respectively.The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules and other data for the computer. Although a hard disk, aremovable magnetic disk and a removable optical disk are described,other types of computer-readable storage media can be used to storedata, such as flash memory cards, digital video disks, random accessmemories (RAMs), read only memories (ROM), and the like.

A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magneticdisk, optical disk, ROM, or RAM. These programs include an operatingsystem 730, one or more application programs 732, other program modules734, and program data 736. Application programs 732 or program modules734 may include, for example, computer program logic for implementingany one or more of parallel loading and serial access logic 350,operating system 302, loading logic 308, dependency removal logic 310,even creation logic 312, software drivers 314A-314N, software 316,designated event 320, parallel loading and serial access logic 450,operating system 402, loading logic 408, dependency removal logic 410,even creation logic 412, software drivers 434A-434M, software 416A-416M,designated events 420A-420M, flowchart 100 (including any step offlowchart 100), flowchart 200 (including any step of flowchart 200),and/or flowchart 500 (including any step of flowchart 500), as describedherein.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 700 throughinput devices such as keyboard 738 and pointing device 740. Other inputdevices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, touch screen, camera, accelerometer, gyroscope,or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit 702 through a serial port interface 742 that is coupledto bus 706, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallelport, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB).

A display device 744 (e.g., a monitor) is also connected to bus 706 viaan interface, such as a video adapter 746. In addition to display device744, computer 700 may include other peripheral output devices (notshown) such as speakers and printers.

Computer 700 is connected to a network 748 (e.g., the Internet) througha network interface or adapter 750, a modem 752, or other means forestablishing communications over the network. Modem 752, which may beinternal or external, is connected to bus 706 via serial port interface742.

As used herein, the terms “computer program medium” and“computer-readable storage medium” are used to generally refer to media(e.g., non-transitory media) such as the hard disk associated with harddisk drive 714, removable magnetic disk 718, removable optical disk 722,as well as other media such as flash memory cards, digital video disks,random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROM), and the like.Such computer-readable storage media are distinguished from andnon-overlapping with communication media (do not include communicationmedia). Communication media embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media, as well as wired media.Example embodiments are also directed to such communication media.

As noted above, computer programs and modules (including applicationprograms 732 and other program modules 734) may be stored on the harddisk, magnetic disk, optical disk, ROM, or RAM. Such computer programsmay also be received via network interface 750 or serial port interface742. Such computer programs, when executed or loaded by an application,enable computer 700 to implement features of embodiments discussedherein. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer 700.

Example embodiments are also directed to computer program productscomprising software (e.g., computer-readable instructions) stored on anycomputer-usable medium. Such software, when executed in one or more dataprocessing devices, causes data processing device(s) to operate asdescribed herein. Embodiments may employ any computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium, known now or in the future. Examples ofcomputer-readable mediums include, but are not limited to storagedevices such as RAM, hard drives, floppy disks, CD ROMs, DVD ROMs, zipdisks, tapes, magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices,MEMS-based storage devices, nanotechnology-based storage devices, andthe like.

It will be recognized that the disclosed technologies are not limited toany particular computer or type of hardware. Certain details of suitablecomputers and hardware are well known and need not be set forth indetail in this disclosure.

IV. FURTHER DISCUSSION OF SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

A first example system comprises a plurality of hardware components. Thefirst example system further comprises a memory storing an operatingsystem. The first example system further comprises one or moreprocessors configured to execute the operating system. The operatingsystem is configured to load a plurality of software drivers, whichcorrespond to the plurality of respective hardware components, inparallel based at least in part on the plurality of hardware componentsbeing a same hardware component type. The first example system furthercomprises a controller configured to control access of the softwaredrivers to the respective hardware components by serially providingrequests from the respective software drivers to the respective hardwarecomponents in response to the plurality of software drivers beingloaded, the requests requesting initiation of communication with therespective hardware components.

In a first aspect of the first example system, the operating system isfurther configured to create a designated event to be utilized by thesoftware drivers to facilitate initialization of the respective hardwarecomponents. The designated event is usable by one of the softwaredrivers at a time. The designated event forms part of the controller. Inaccordance with the first aspect, the controller is configured toserially provide the requests during respective periods of time duringwhich the respective software drivers use the designated event.

In an implementation of the first aspect of the first example system,the operating system is configured to remove a static load-timedependency associated with the software drivers to enable the softwaredrivers to be loaded in parallel.

In a second aspect of the first example system, the controller compriseshardware and software. In accordance with the second aspect, thesoftware is configured to generate instructions to program the hardwarebased at least in part on receipt of the requests from the respectivesoftware drivers. In further accordance with the second aspect, thehardware is configured to serially provide the requests to therespective hardware components based at least in part on theinstructions. The second aspect of the first example system may beimplemented in combination with the first aspect of the first examplesystem, though the example embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In a third aspect of the first example system, the first example systemfurther comprises a plurality of second hardware components. Inaccordance with the third aspect, the operating system is configured toload a plurality of second software drivers serially to accommodate astatic load-time dependency associated with the plurality of secondsoftware drivers, the plurality of second software drivers correspondingto the plurality of respective second hardware components. The thirdaspect of the first example system may be implemented in combinationwith the first and/or second aspect of the first example system, thoughthe example embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In an implementation of the third aspect of the first example system, afirst hardware component type of the plurality of hardware componentsand a second hardware component type of the plurality of second hardwarecomponents are same.

In a fourth aspect of the first example system, the plurality ofhardware components is a plurality of respective cameras. In accordancewith the fourth aspect, the controller is configured to control theaccess of the software drivers to the respective cameras by seriallyproviding the requests from the respective software drivers to therespective hardware components. The fourth aspect of the first examplesystem may be implemented in combination with the first, second, and/orthird aspect of the first example system, though the example embodimentsare not limited in this respect.

In a fifth aspect of the first example system, the first example systemfurther comprises a plurality of second hardware components. Inaccordance with the fifth aspect, the first example system furthercomprises a second controller. In further accordance with the fifthaspect, the operating system is further configured to load a pluralityof second software drivers, which correspond to the plurality ofrespective second hardware components, in parallel based at least inpart on the plurality of second hardware components being a same secondhardware component type. In further accordance with the fifth aspect,the second controller is configured to control access of the secondsoftware drivers to the respective second hardware components byserially providing second requests from the respective second softwaredrivers to the respective second hardware components in response to theplurality of second software drivers being loaded, the second requestsrequesting initiation of communication with the respective secondhardware components. In further accordance with the fifth aspect, thecontroller and the second controller are configured to allow thecontroller to provide a request from a software driver of the pluralityof software drivers to a respective hardware component of the pluralityof hardware components in parallel with the second controller providinga second request from a second software driver of the plurality ofsecond software drivers to a respective second hardware component of theplurality of second hardware components. The fifth aspect of the firstexample system may be implemented in combination with the first, second,third, and/or fourth aspect of the first example system, though theexample embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In a first implementation of the fifth aspect of the first examplesystem, the plurality of hardware components are a first hardwarecomponent type. In accordance with the first implementation, theplurality of second hardware components are a second hardware componenttype that is different from the first hardware component type.

In a second implementation of the fifth aspect of the first examplesystem, the operating system is configured to load the plurality ofsoftware drivers in parallel with the plurality of second softwaredrivers.

A second example system comprises means for loading a plurality ofsoftware drivers, which correspond to a plurality of respective hardwarecomponents, in parallel during boot-up of the second example systembased at least in part on the plurality of hardware components being asame hardware component type. The second example system furthercomprises means for controlling access of the software drivers to therespective hardware components by serially providing requests from therespective software drivers to the respective hardware components duringthe boot-up of the second example system in response to the plurality ofsoftware drivers being loaded during the boot-up of the second examplesystem. The requests request initiation of communication with therespective hardware components.

In an example method performed during initialization of a computingdevice, a plurality of software drivers of the computing device, whichcorrespond to a plurality of respective hardware components of thecomputing device, are loaded in parallel based at least in part on thehardware components being a same hardware component type. Access of thesoftware drivers to the respective hardware components is controlled byserially providing requests from the respective software drivers to therespective hardware components in response to loading the softwaredrivers. The requests request initiation of communication with therespective hardware components.

In a first aspect of the example method, the example method furthercomprises removing a static load-time dependency associated with thesoftware drivers to enable the loading of the software drivers inparallel.

In a second aspect of the example method, the example method furthercomprises creating a designated event to be utilized by the softwaredrivers to facilitate initialization of the respective hardwarecomponents. The designated event is usable by one of the softwaredrivers at a time. In accordance with the second aspect, seriallyproviding the requests comprises serially providing the requests duringrespective periods of time during which the respective software driversuse the designated event. The second aspect of the example method may beimplemented in combination with the first aspect of the example method,though the example embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In a third aspect of the example method, serially providing the requestscomprises using a controller to serially provide the requests. Thecontroller comprises hardware and software. In accordance with the thirdaspect, using the controller comprises receiving the requests from therespective software drivers by the software. In further accordance withthe third aspect, using the controller further comprises programming thehardware by the software to cause the hardware to serially provide therequests to the respective hardware components. The third aspect of theexample method may be implemented in combination with the first and/orsecond aspect of the example method, though the example embodiments arenot limited in this respect.

In a fourth aspect of the example method, the example method furthercomprises loading a second plurality of software drivers of thecomputing device serially to accommodate a static load-time dependencyassociated with the second plurality of software drivers. The fourthaspect of the example method may be implemented in combination with thefirst, second, and/or third aspect of the example method, though theexample embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In an implementation of the fourth aspect of the example method, a firsthardware component type of the plurality of hardware components and asecond hardware component type of a second plurality of hardwarecomponents to which the plurality of respective software driverscorrespond are same.

In a fifth aspect of the example method, the plurality of softwaredrivers is a plurality of first software drivers and the plurality ofhardware components is a plurality of first hardware components. Inaccordance with the fifth aspect, controlling the access comprisescontrolling the access of the first software drivers to the respectivefirst hardware components by a first controller. In further accordancewith the fifth aspect, the example method further comprises loading aplurality of second software drivers, which correspond to a plurality ofrespective second hardware components of the computing device, inparallel based at least in part on the plurality of second hardwarecomponents being a same second hardware component type. In furtheraccordance with the fifth aspect, the example method further comprisescontrolling access of the second software drivers to the respectivesecond hardware components, by a second controller, by seriallyproviding second requests from the respective second software drivers tothe respective second hardware components in response to the pluralityof second software drivers being loaded, the second requests requestinginitiation of communication with the respective second hardwarecomponents. In further accordance with the fifth aspect, a request froma specified software driver that is included in the plurality of firstsoftware drivers is provided to a specified hardware component that isincluded in the plurality of first hardware components by the firstcontroller in parallel with a second request from a designated softwaredriver that is included in the plurality of second software driversbeing provided to a designated hardware component that is included inthe plurality of second hardware components by the second controller.The fifth aspect of the example method may be implemented in combinationwith the first, second, third, and/or fourth aspect of the examplemethod, though the example embodiments are not limited in this respect.

In a first implementation of the fifth aspect of the example method, thefirst hardware components are a first hardware component type. Inaccordance with the first implementation, the second hardware componentsare a second hardware component type that is different from the firsthardware component type.

In a second implementation of the fifth aspect of the example method,the first software drivers are loaded in parallel with the secondsoftware drivers.

An example computer program product comprises a computer-readable mediumhaving instructions recorded thereon for enabling a processor-basedsystem to initialize a plurality of hardware components. Theinstructions comprise first instructions for enabling theprocessor-based system to load a plurality of software drivers, whichcorrespond to a plurality of respective hardware components, in parallelduring boot-up of the processor-based system based at least in part onthe plurality of hardware components being a same hardware componenttype. The instructions further comprise second instructions for enablingthe processor-based system to control access of the software drivers tothe respective hardware components by serially providing requests fromthe respective software drivers to the respective hardware componentsduring boot-up of the processor-based system in response to theplurality of software drivers being loaded during the boot-up of theprocessor-based system. The requests request initiation of communicationwith the respective hardware components.

V. CONCLUSION

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or acts, it is to be understood that the subjectmatter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific featuresand acts described above are disclosed as examples of implementing theclaims, and other equivalent features and acts are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a plurality of hardwarecomponents; a memory storing an operating system; one or more processorsconfigured to execute the operating system, the operating systemconfigured to load a plurality of software drivers, which correspond tothe plurality of respective hardware components, in parallel based atleast in part on the plurality of hardware components being a samehardware component type; and a controller configured to control accessof the software drivers to the respective hardware components byserially providing requests from the respective software drivers to therespective hardware components in response to the software drivers beingloaded, the requests requesting initiation of communication with therespective hardware components.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperating system is further configured to create a designated event tobe utilized by the software drivers to facilitate initialization of therespective hardware components, the designated event being usable by oneof the software drivers at a time, the designated event forming part ofthe controller; and wherein the controller is configured to seriallyprovide the requests during respective periods of time during which therespective software drivers use the designated event.
 3. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the operating system is configured to remove a staticload-time dependency associated with the software drivers to enable thesoftware drivers to be loaded in parallel.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the controller comprises hardware and software; wherein thesoftware is configured to generate instructions to program the hardwarebased at least in part on receipt of the requests from the respectivesoftware drivers; and wherein the hardware is configured to seriallyprovide the requests to the respective hardware components based atleast in part on the instructions.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a plurality of second hardware components; wherein theoperating system is configured to load a plurality of second softwaredrivers serially to accommodate a static load-time dependency associatedwith the plurality of second software drivers, the plurality of secondsoftware drivers corresponding to the plurality of respective secondhardware components.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein a first hardwarecomponent type of the plurality of hardware components and a secondhardware component type of the plurality of second hardware componentsare same.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of hardwarecomponents is a plurality of respective cameras; and wherein thecontroller is configured to control the access of the software driversto the respective cameras by serially providing the requests from therespective software drivers to the respective cameras.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising: a plurality of second hardware components;and a second controller; wherein the operating system is furtherconfigured to load a plurality of second software drivers, whichcorrespond to the plurality of respective second hardware components, inparallel based at least in part on the plurality of second hardwarecomponents being a same second hardware component type; wherein thesecond controller is configured to control access of the second softwaredrivers to the respective second hardware components by seriallyproviding second requests from the respective second software drivers tothe respective second hardware components in response to the pluralityof second software drivers being loaded, the second requests requestinginitiation of communication with the respective second hardwarecomponents; and wherein the controller and the second controller areconfigured to allow the controller to provide a request from a softwaredriver of the plurality of software drivers to a respective hardwarecomponent of the plurality of hardware components in parallel with thesecond controller providing a second request from a second softwaredriver of the plurality of second software drivers to a respectivesecond hardware component of the plurality of second hardwarecomponents.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of hardwarecomponents are a first hardware component type; and wherein theplurality of second hardware components are a second hardware componenttype that is different from the first hardware component type.
 10. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the operating system is configured to loadthe plurality of software drivers in parallel with the plurality ofsecond software drivers.
 11. A method performed during initialization ofa computing device, the method comprising: loading a plurality ofsoftware drivers of the computing device, which correspond to aplurality of respective hardware components of the computing device, inparallel based at least in part on the hardware components being a samehardware component type; and controlling access of the software driversto the respective hardware components by serially providing requestsfrom the respective software drivers to the respective hardwarecomponents in response to loading the software drivers, the requestsrequesting initiation of communication with the respective hardwarecomponents.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: removing astatic load-time dependency associated with the software drivers toenable the loading of the software drivers in parallel.
 13. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: creating a designated event that iscapable of being assigned to one of the software drivers at a time;wherein serially providing the requests comprises: serially providingthe requests during respective periods of time during which thedesignated event is assigned to the respective software drivers.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein serially providing the requests comprises:using a controller to serially provide the requests, the controllercomprising hardware and software; and wherein using the controllercomprises: receiving the requests from the respective software driversby the software; and programming the hardware by the software to causethe hardware to serially provide the requests to the respective hardwarecomponents.
 15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: loading asecond plurality of software drivers of the computing device serially toaccommodate a static load-time dependency associated with the secondplurality of software drivers.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein afirst hardware component type of the plurality of hardware componentsand a second hardware component type of a second plurality of hardwarecomponents to which the plurality of respective software driverscorrespond are same.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the pluralityof software drivers is a plurality of first software drivers and theplurality of hardware components is a plurality of first hardwarecomponents; wherein controlling the access comprises: controlling theaccess of the first software drivers to the respective first hardwarecomponents by a first controller; wherein the method further comprises:loading a plurality of second software drivers of the computing device,which correspond to a plurality of respective second hardware componentsof the computing device, in parallel based at least in part on theplurality of second hardware components being a same second hardwarecomponent type; and controlling access of the second software drivers tothe respective second hardware components, by a second controller, byserially providing second requests from the respective second softwaredrivers to the respective second hardware components in response to theplurality of second software drivers being loaded, the second requestsrequesting initiation of communication with the respective secondhardware components; and wherein a request from a specified softwaredriver that is included in the plurality of first software drivers isprovided to a specified hardware component that is included in theplurality of first hardware components by the first controller inparallel with a second request from a designated software driver that isincluded in the plurality of second software drivers being provided to adesignated hardware component that is included in the plurality ofsecond hardware components by the second controller.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the plurality of first hardware components are a firsthardware component type; and wherein the plurality of second hardwarecomponents are a second hardware component type that is different fromthe first hardware component type.
 19. The method of claim 17, whereinloading the plurality of first software drivers and loading theplurality of second software drivers are performed in parallel.
 20. Asystem comprising: means for loading a plurality of software drivers,which correspond to a plurality of respective hardware components, inparallel during boot-up of the system based at least in part on theplurality of hardware components being a same hardware component type;and means for controlling access of the software drivers to therespective hardware components by serially providing requests from therespective software drivers to the respective hardware components duringthe boot-up of the system in response to the plurality of softwaredrivers being loaded during the boot-up of the system, the requestsrequesting initiation of communication with the respective hardwarecomponents.